Chelsea doc demoted after Jose moans

Carneiro, 41, of Spanish and British parentage, will continue to be the first-team doctor but now will only work from the club's Cobham training base. She will not travel with the team to games, home or away, nor will she attend training sessions outside on the first-team pitch at Cobham.

Chelsea refused to comment on her specific situation yesterday. A spokesman for the club said: “We don't comment on internal staffing matters.”

Whether Carneiro continues in her new, more limited role is debatable, especially given the high regard in which she is held in her profession and the very public nature of her demotion.

Mourinho criticised his on-field medical team of Carneiro and Fearn for being overzealous in treating Eden Hazard in the closing moments of Saturday's draw with Swansea at Stamford Bridge. It is understood that there will be some minor changes to the role that Fearn plays in his position as head physiotherapist, and it is not clear whether he will continue as one of the on-field team. He was the first of the two medical staff who ran on to the pitch to treat Hazard on Saturday, provoking a furious reaction from Mourinho.

The decision on Carneiro asks serious questions of just how Mourinho reacted to her subsequent response to his public criticism of her. Having been lambasted by Mourinho for her and Fearn's lack of understanding of the game in ruling Hazard out of the next phase of play, Carneiro posted on Facebook on Sunday evening thanking people for having sent supportive messages over the weekend in light of the incident. She wrote: “I would like to thank the general public for their overwhelming support. Really very much appreciated.”

Chelsea keep a tight rein on any public statements from their backroom staff and they have previously refused any interview requests for Carneiro. She has never spoken to a British newspaper since she was appointed by Andre Villas-Boas to take responsibility for first-team duties in 2011.

Her only major public speaking engagement, at a seminar for the Swedish football federation last year, was approved by the club first.

The club's medical director, Paco Biosca, who joined from Shakhtar Donestk in 2011, will continue to run the whole medical department. Carneiro's role was to monitor treatment of injuries and administer medicines. The club was not able to say who will be their pitchside doctor when they play Manchester City on Sunday.

The changes are equally surprising given that they come just days after Mourinho praised his medical department's work on Friday when he was discussing Diego Costa's ongoing injury problems. Then Mourinho said: “There is nobody to blame [for Costa's problems] and that is very important. I can't blame the player, because the player works hard, and the medical department, I completely trust in them.”

On Saturday Mourinho was angry that Fearn and Carneiro's entry on to the pitch had ruled Hazard out of the subsequent phase of play as Chelsea were already down to 10 players. Mourinho said his staff had to be sure that players who went down “had a serious problem” before they treated them and necessitated the player's removal from the pitch until permitted to come back on by the referee.

“I wasn't happy with my medical staff because even if you are a medical doctor or secretary on the bench, you have to understand the game,” Mourinho said. – The Independent